It’s a funny thing when billionaire industrialists and their network of 450 similarly affluent political donors are tired of being “demonized.” One such donor, who attended the Koch brothers’ donor conference last weekend, “doesn’t like being portrayed as a villain,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
Steve Hamilton supports the Kochs’ purported subsidy-eliminating agenda: “I decided to stand up for what I believe in,” he reportedly said.
And what he believes in, apparently, is self-interested hypocrisy.
Hamilton, like the Kochs, has no problem raking in government corporate subsidy dollars while claiming to be opposed to the practice. His lab equipment company, Hamilton Company, has benefited significantly from corporate subsidies and tax abatements.
Hypocrisy befitting a Koch donor. Bravo, Mr. Hamilton.
Steve Hamilton of Hamilton Company Was a Koch Donor Who “Welcomed Charles Koch’s Call To End Corporate Subsidies.”
Steve Hamilton Was The Owner Of Hamilton Company In Reno, Nevada And A Koch Donor. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Steve Hamilton owns a company that manufactures complex lab equipment. He employs 650 people in Reno, Nev. And he doesn’t like being portrayed as a villain. Mr. Hamilton is one of the 450 donors who attended a weekend gathering hosted by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch. […]The chief executive of Hamilton Company, attending his fourth Koch event, relishes the camaraderie of these events and said he was frustrated with attacks on the organizers.” [Wall Street Journal,8/3/15]
Wall Street Journal: Hamilton “Welcomed Charles Koch’s Call To End Corporate Subsidies, Even Though It May Cause Heartburn For Other Business Owners.” According to the Wall Street Journal, “Mr. [Steve] Hamilton echoed that sentiment. He welcomed Charles Koch’s call to end corporate subsidies, even though it may cause heartburn for other business owners. Mr. Hamilton wants to see an overhaul of the tax system that would lower the corporate tax rate. The chief executive of Hamilton Company, attending his fourth Koch event, relishes the camaraderie of these events and said he was frustrated with attacks on the organizers.” [Wall Street Journal, 8/3/15]
Hamilton Company Received Corporate Subsidies In Nevada
Nevada Governor’s Office Of Economic Development Press Release: Hamilton Company And Eight Other Businesses Received Tax Abatements Totaling Under $18 Million.According to a press release from the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, “The Board of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) last Thursday approved tax abatements for nine companies, creating nearly 330 jobs initially and increasing capital investment in Nevada by an additional $200 million. […] Companies that were approved for abatements, totaling under $18 million, include: […]Hamilton Company: Headquartered in Reno since 1970, Hamilton Company would be expanding its current Washoe County operation.” [Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development Press Release, 5/20/13]
In Fiscal Year 2013, Hamilton Company In Washoe County Received A 2 Year Sale & Use Tax Abatement Worth $953,978 And A 10 Year Personal Property Abatement Valued At $649,541. According to the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Hamilton Company in Washoe County received an “Approved 2 Year Sale & Use Tax Abatement” worth $953,978 and “Approved 10 Year Personal Property Abatement” worth $649,541. [Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development Abatement Report, 01/15]
In Fiscal Year 2007, Hamilton Company In Washoe County Received A Sales And Use Tax Abatement Estimated At $353,988, A 50% Business Tax Abatement Over Four Years, And A 50% Personal Property Tax Abatement Over Ten Years. According to a report from the Fiscal Analysis Division of the Legislative Counsel Bureau for Nevada, Hamilton Company in Washoe County received an “Estimated Sales and Use Tax Abatement Approved” of $353,988, an “Amount of Business Tax or Modified Business Tax Abatement” of 50%/4 years and “amount of personal property tax abatement” of 50%/10 years. [Fiscal Analysis Division of the Legislative Counsel Bureau for Nevada, 02/09]
Koch-Funded Nevada Policy Research Institute Opposed The Program Which Granted The Tax Abatements To Hamilton Company
NPRI Criticized Gov. Brian Sandoval’s Economic Development Plan “For Interfering With The State Government” And Said It Was “A Crony Capitalist Scheme.” According to the Las Vegas Sun, “On Tuesday, the libertarian think tank Nevada Policy Research Institute criticized his [Gov. Brian Sandoval’s] new plan for interfering with the free market. The plan calls for seven state ‘industry specialists’ in different economic sectors. ‘It’s a statement of abandoning a belief in free market enterprise,’ said Geoffrey Lawrence, deputy policy director for NPRI. He said new industries will be looking for subsidies to get off the ground instead of consumer demands. ‘Investments will be subject to political factors,’ he said. ‘It’s going to become highly politicized.’ He said the state economy is starting to recover, something the report starts out by acknowledging. ‘This is a big disappointment,’ he said. ‘I think it’s a crony capitalist scheme.’” [Las Vegas Sun, 2/7/12]
NPRI Said The Plan Would “Cartelize” The State Economy And Turn Nevada To “A Corporatist Economy Directed By Government Insiders.” According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, “Not everyone was happy with the new plan, however. The Nevada Policy Research Institute, a free market think tank, blasted the plan as a ‘road map for crony capitalism’ and ‘cartelizing’ the state economy. ‘With this plan, the governor has turned from free-market principles to those of a corporatist economy directed by government insiders,’ NPRI deputy policy director Geoffrey Lawrence said in a statement. ‘The plan calls for government officials to dole out direct state support and other subsidies in order to ‘incent entrepreneurship.’ The incentive for genuine entrepreneurship is profit from serving the public. Unfortunately, what this plan would encourage is corporatist rent-seeking.’” [Reno Gazette-Journal, 2/8/12]
NPRI’s Geoffrey Lawrence: “At Least President Obama Only Wants To Run The Nation’s Health Care System; Governor Sandoval Proposes That The Government Direct Nevada’s Entire Economy.” According to the Daily Sparks Tribune, “The Nevada Policy Research Institute (NPRI) released a statement following [Gov. Brian] Sandoval’s public delivery of his three-year economic plan Tuesday at the University of Nevada, Reno. ‘At least President Obama only wants to run the nation’s health care system; Governor Sandoval proposes that the government direct Nevada’s entire economy,’ said NRPI’s Deputy Policy Director Geoffrey Lawrence, in a press release Tuesday.” [Daily Sparks Tribune, 2/11/12]
NPRI Filed A Lawsuit “To Stop The Governor’s Economic Development Office From Divvying Up A $10 Million Catalyst Fund To Private Companies” Arguing The State Constitution Prohibits It. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “A conservative think tank filed a lawsuit Wednesday to stop the governor’s economic development office from divvying up a $10 million Catalyst Fund to private companies opening businesses in the state. Joseph Becker, a lawyer representing the Nevada Policy Research Institute, said the state constitution specifically states that Nevada ‘shall not donate or loan money’ to any companies or corporations except those formed for educational or charitable purposes.” [Las Vegas Review-Journal, 2/20/14]
NPRI Had Significant Koch Funding Ties
NPRI Was A State Policy Network Member. [spn.org/directory, accessed 7/7/15]
- The State Policy Network Was Previously Known As The Madison Group, Was Launched In 1986 By ALEC And Housed In The Chicago-Based Heartland Institute.According to the National Committee for Responsible Philanthropy: “The think tanks are loosely affiliated through the Madison Group, launched by the American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC (see story, pf 20) and housed in the Chicago-based Heartland Institute. Founded in 1986, the Madison Group acts as a communication link among its 79members, which include not only state think tanks, but also conservative legal foundations and national groups like ALEC, Heritage Foundation and the National Rifle Association.” [National Committee for Responsible Philanthropy, Special Report: Burgeoning Conservative Think Tanks, Spring 1991]
- State Policy Network Members’ Combined 2011 Fundraising Was Over $83 Million And Included “Major” Koch Money And Donors Trust And Donors Capital Fund Money.According to the Huffington Post, “In 2011, the State Policy Network and its affiliates reported raising a combined $83.2 million, according to the Center for Media and Democracy. While donors to the groups are not required to be disclosed, a 2010 document opened a window on some of them. They included the Donors Trust and the Donors Capital Fund, both secretive right-wing funding instruments, as well as Altria, AT&T, Comcast, GlaxoSmithKline, Kraft Foods, Microsoft, Reynolds American and Time Warner Cable. Multiple documents reviewed in the report also show that the Koch brothers, known for their extensive funding of conservative activist causes, are major funders of the State Policy Network and its affiliates through their linked foundations and Koch Industries. Many other wealthy conservatives have likewise pumped money into the network, including the DeVos family of Amway, the Coors brewing family, the Waltons of Walmart, and wealthy businessman (and North Carolina budget director) Art Pope.” [Huffington Post, 11/14/13]
NPRI Received $1,379,932 From Koch-Connected Donors Capital Fund Between 2005 And 2013. According to Donors Capital Fund tax documents, the Donors Capital Fund made 14 contributions totaling $1,379,932 to the Nevada Policy Research Institute between 2005 and 2013. [Donors Capital Fund Forms 990 via Conservative Transparency, 2005-2013]
NPRI Received $50,000 From The Cato Institute In 2006. According to Cato Institute tax documents, the Cato Institute contributed $50,000 to the Nevada Policy Research Institute in 2006 “to help fund like-minded 501(c)(3) orgs.” [Cato Institute Form 990 via Conservative Transparency, 2006]